Michael_T said...
Today marks three years since I received my diagnosis and in a bit of interesting timing, I just got my PSA score on Friday: 0.14. My last four scores have all been right about 0.15 and I'm really hoping it settles here indefinitely.
When I went met with my uro I was prepared to be told I had cancer. I wasn't prepared to be told I was in the high risk group. While I wasn't freaked out, I was very discouraged and told my wife I wasn't interested in a second opinion and should have surgery like the uro recommended. But a few weeks later I started poking around on HW and got some great advice that led to me being more empowered.
Perhaps the key advice for me was to consult with Prostate Oncology Specialists, which is in my backyard here So Cal. Dr Lam was a godsend for me, helping me stage my disease and sort through my treatment options. He put me in touch with the HDR brachy program at UCLA (I now know I could have made this contact on my own, but at the time I needed the direction) and we put in place the triple play of HDR brachy, IMRT and HT. At this point, I have no SEs to speak of (although my testosterone is still low) and in general I'm only vaguely conscious of the fact that I even had cancer.
While I want to be careful and not "spike the ball" since some here have not been as fortunate as I have, I do think there's value for newcomers knowing that there are some good potential outcomes--even with adverse diagnoses. (I also don't want to declare victory too soon, since it is still rather early in the game...) My sincere thanks to those that have helped me on my journey and I hope that I can be as helpful for others in their own battle.
Hey Michael,
You and I have shared some great stories over these few years as we both had such similar DX numbers and treatment options. I can easily say "ditto" to how I feel after 4 years as well. Thanks and good luck the rest of the way!
Glenn G Kavanagh